Henry Ford once said, “History
as it is taught in the schools deals largely with...wars, major political
controversies, territorial extensions and the like. When I went to our American
history books to learn how our forefathers harrowed the land, I discovered that
the historians knew nothing about harrows. Yet our country depended more on
harrows than on guns or great speeches. I thought a history which excluded
harrows and all the rest of daily life is bunk and I think so yet."
Yeah...one of my favorite quotes.
Note that he did not say that we shouldn't learn about wars, major political
controversies, territorial extensions and the like. He only stated that he did not want to see harrows and all the rest of daily life excluded from history.
There is about a 90 year span between us, but what's a little time among good friends? |
But I still loved this subject, and read as many books I could find that would tell me about everyday life to feed my historical hunger.
Unfortunately, there were very few books of this nature readily available at the time.
Unfortunately, there were very few books of this nature readily available at the time.
Now, imagine if, as this young school boy, I could see history come alive before my eyes...the characters in my history books popping out of the pages and standing right before me, telling of the tales that made them history-book-famous in the first place.
What I would've given for something like this to happen...
Guess what?
It does happen!
What I would've given for something like this to happen...
Guess what?
It does happen!
You see, the Plymouth (Michigan) Historical Museum will, every-so-often, play host to one of their "A Night at the Museum" parties, which is based on the movies of the same name:
"The "Night at the Museum" has
come to Plymouth, and now children can experience a birthday party they will
never forget. Plymouth Historical Museum staff, inspired by the movies of the
same name, created this magical evening, where children discover that the
characters within the Museum come alive after hours.
Kids begin the delightful evening in the lower level meeting room, where they gather and socialize before sitting down for a dinner of pizza or subs and drinks while watching one of the "Night at the Museum" movies. When the show ends, a reenactor meets them and their magical journey begins. They are greeted on the pretense of touring the Museum, but when presented with a personalized "Tablet of Akmenrah," they discover that not all is as it seems. This tablet is a recreation of the Egyptian tablet used in the movies that brings the Museum characters to life, which the children soon realize seemingly works in this Museum as well.
The Museum is filled with reenactors silently waiting for the kids to bring them to life with the tablet. Kids could discover a Roman soldier dressed in full battle gear or Civil War soldiers preparing for war, or women wearing big hoop skirts and fancy dresses. There may even be a teenager from the 1950s hanging about, waiting to be awakened so she can dance and sing to her favorite rock and roll music. Anyone can be discovered at the Museum, and children will enjoy the living history. Each character chats with the kids about a slice of history so children might learn a thing or two while they are having fun at the party."
Kids begin the delightful evening in the lower level meeting room, where they gather and socialize before sitting down for a dinner of pizza or subs and drinks while watching one of the "Night at the Museum" movies. When the show ends, a reenactor meets them and their magical journey begins. They are greeted on the pretense of touring the Museum, but when presented with a personalized "Tablet of Akmenrah," they discover that not all is as it seems. This tablet is a recreation of the Egyptian tablet used in the movies that brings the Museum characters to life, which the children soon realize seemingly works in this Museum as well.
The Museum is filled with reenactors silently waiting for the kids to bring them to life with the tablet. Kids could discover a Roman soldier dressed in full battle gear or Civil War soldiers preparing for war, or women wearing big hoop skirts and fancy dresses. There may even be a teenager from the 1950s hanging about, waiting to be awakened so she can dance and sing to her favorite rock and roll music. Anyone can be discovered at the Museum, and children will enjoy the living history. Each character chats with the kids about a slice of history so children might learn a thing or two while they are having fun at the party."
Yeah...it's very cool.
And that's exactly what happened on June 9th for a very excited 12 year old girl and a group of her friends.
Ahhh...to be a youth in school today...
So, would you like to see how well it went?
Look no further:
One young lady politely held up her hand and said, "My history book said that you said, "The British are coming!"
I smiled and responded with, "Well, young lady, your history book is wrong."
She certainly didn't know how to take that, but, well, better we get accuracy over false information, right?
All in good fun, and all for the love of history!
And that's exactly what happened on June 9th for a very excited 12 year old girl and a group of her friends.
Ahhh...to be a youth in school today...
So, would you like to see how well it went?
Look no further:
One young lady politely held up her hand and said, "My history book said that you said, "The British are coming!"
I smiled and responded with, "Well, young lady, your history book is wrong."
She certainly didn't know how to take that, but, well, better we get accuracy over false information, right?
All in good fun, and all for the love of history!
I greatly enjoy taking part in these "Night at the Museum" events. Yeah...we might only give a five minute glimpse at the life of the historic character we portray, but we certainly pack a lot into that short time.
Thank you, by the way, to the Plymouth Historical Museum for allowing me to use their pictures to illustrate this post. The top pic of Dave and I and the Clara Barton pic are two that I took. The rest I am using courtesy of the Plymouth Historical Museum.
Click HERE to check out the website of the Museum.
Thank you, by the way, to the Plymouth Historical Museum for allowing me to use their pictures to illustrate this post. The top pic of Dave and I and the Clara Barton pic are two that I took. The rest I am using courtesy of the Plymouth Historical Museum.
Click HERE to check out the website of the Museum.
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